Valve-lock.



L. TOBAGK. VALVE LOOK. APPLICATION FILED NOV.11, 190B.

923,090. r v Patented May 25, 1909.

n15 NORRIS PETERs co., WASHINIGTON, u c.

,IINII eras L "naesaoeo.

, LEoroLDroBAoK, or UNION HILL, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO ANTI-WATER OVERFLOW (10., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

VALVE-LOCK.

To altwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, 'LEOPOLD TOBAOK, a

, citizen of the United States, residing at Union Hill, inthe county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Valve-Locks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

I My invention relates to the class of valve 10 1 1 fformanoe of an act such as the turning off I of water in a building at night-and is aclocks. It is a device forinsuring the percomplished by making the conditions such thatit is impossible to perform another act such-as the locking ofthe front door of the same building until the water has been turned ofi.

In its generally stated aspects, the present invention is in the nature of an improvement I Stiner, No. 413,794, dated October 29, 1889,

on the lock set forthin the patents to O. M.

cut-off, or window, has been closed and locked." The building key is then released andrisavailable toflock up the building. Conversely, the key trap, cannot be made use of to' unlock and open the water, gas, or

' waste valves, or other appliance, until the made difficult.

building key is first inserted and trapped therein. The obvious result is to absolutely insure the turning, off of the valve, etc, at night. The present invention relates mainly to features by which any subterfuge or manipulation to evade the above proceedings, is It is evident that in order to have the device act efficiently as a safeguard, it must be fairlyproof against picking or manipulation, which might permit the valves, etc, to be turned on without the building key being'properly trapped. Withthis and other objects in view, my invention consists of the features of con, 'struction and combination as hereinafter set T forth and claimed. I

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective View of avalve lock apparatus involving the Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed November 11, 1908. Serial No. 462,038.

Patented May 25, 1909.

principles of my invention; Fig. 2, is a side elevation of the key-trap; Fig. 3, is a top view of the same Fig. 4, is a bottom view of the key-trap; Fig. 5, is a vertical sectional view; Fig. 6, is a similar view on a plane at right-angles to that of Fig. 5; Fig. 7, is a section on the line VII-V II of Fig. 5'; Fig. 8, is a section on the line VIIIVIII of Fig. 5; and Fig. 9, is a section on the line IXIX of Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawing, in which like parts are designated by the same reference sign, 1 designates a cock valve, or switch, or other appliance, in a building which should be manipulated in a certain way at closing time.

2 denotes a lock casing or shell and 3 a key trap which fits therein and which cooperates in ocking the valve or the like in its closed position. In practice the valve or the like is made with a keeper 4, and the key trap 3 has a recess 5 to receive the keeper and fasten the same under certain circumstances. The key trap must, however, beinserted in the lock casing or shell 2 and the building key properly trapped before the valve can be locked in this way. The mechanism bywhich this is accomplished is most clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

The key trap is made in the form of an elongated, cylindrical body with a pin 6 on one side which enters a notch in the lock casing 3 so as to always enter the same in a predetermined angular relation, with the recess 5 opposite a hole 5 in the casing. The key trap also has a pair of holes 7 on its bottom face 8 through which a pair of studs 9 projecting internally from the bottom of the lock casing 3 are adapted to project. These pins and holes are disposed in any irregular manner and register only when the key trap is properly inserted in the lock casing 2, as above described.

The key trap is made with an interior cylindrical chamber 10, and contains a core 11, which is rotatable therein and has a bolt 12 forming an integral part thereof and shaped in arcuate form concentric with the core so as to be thrown. across the opening 5 when the core is turned angularly in the cylindrical body of the key trap; I conveniently cut a pair of deep angular grooves 14 in the core 11 and undercut the rib formed therebetween, so as to establish a bolt 12 integrally with the material of the core.

These features thus far described are shown in the prior patents above referred to and do not constitute any direct part of the present invention. It is obviously important to have a means for trapping the key in the key trap, which is not adapted to be released by any available wire, nail or tool which happened to be handy. In other Words, While it is not necessary to have the key locked in the key trap with the efficiency of a burglar-proof lock, still a greater security is desirable than will tempt the agent of the building to pick the lock rather than to take a few steps to close the valve. In order to accomplish this result, I make the keeper on the valve member serve as a form of key having wards or notches which cooperate with pins of different heights in such a way that unless such keeper or a body of identical shape is inserted in the receiving recess of the key trap, that it will not be possible to release the key. Cooperating with this feature, which in itself is ordinarily a sufficient security, I provide for a plurality of pins and holes in the base or bottom face of the key trap. These plurality of pins in addition to lending greater security against lock picking or other evasive manipulation serve an additional function by virtue of their arrangement, which I will later refer to.

15 designates a plurality of radial holes extending inward from the cylindrical surface of the core 11, and 16 denotes a plurality of holes extending in axial direction inwardly from its bottom end face. The material is most conveniently slotted in a radial plane across the forward extremity of the bolt 12, and the holes 15 are drilled radially inward at the location of this slot so as to consti tute in effect rounded enlargements thereon. The holes 15 and 16 are adapted to receive spring impelled pins, denoted 17 and 17 respectively, which are forced outwardly in their respective holes by the spiral springs 18. When the core 11 is located in a predetermined way in the cylinder 3, the various pins register with holes of the cylinder and are impelled therein by their springs. The pins 17 are, however, forced inward out of this engaging relation by the studs 9 of the lock casing, and the pins 17 at the side of the key trap are likewise adapted to be impelled inward at all their engaging holes by the engagement of the keeper 4, which is specially formed on its bottom face, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 6, for this purpose.

Each of the pins 17 is made with a laterally extending wing 20, and these wings lie at difierent levels or elevations beneath the surface of the opening 5 when the pins are thrust evenly into their engaging holes. The keeper has its end surface formed in steps of different elevations corresponding to the different elevations of the wings 20. The result is that when the keeper is pushed into the opening 5, it engages both of the separate wings 20 and depresses them equally, so that the pins 17 are displaced inward at all their engaging holes. If at the same time the key trap is properly deposited in the lock casing 2, the bottom pins 17 are likewise impelled inward out of their receiving holes 7 by the studs 9, and the core is free to turn in the cylindrical body of the key trap.

24 designates a tult-u'lar extension of the core 11 and which is adapted to receive a small plunger 25 which is constrained in a predetermined angular relation therein by a spline or groove on one side engaged by an integral lug 26 of the plunger. The outer end of the plunger has a recess 27 to receive the key 27 of the building, which has been referred to, and which, of course, may be of any desired character, either for a paracentric or for a ward and tumbler lock. The plunger 25 is impelled outwardly within the tube 24 by the spring 28, which fits over the pin 29 and engages the bottom surface of the plunger. The key is received through a suitable key hole 30 in a cap 31, which fits over the exposed end of the tube and plunger 25 and is fastened to the cylindrical body of the key trap by any suitable screws or devices 31. The key hole 30 is in such alinerent with the recess 27 of the plunger 25 that the key is removable when the bolt 12 of the key trap is thrown across its opening, but the building key is not removable through the key hole 30 when said bolt is in its disengaged relation. I will now show that the bolt can only be thrown into locking relation when the key is inserted in the key trap, and the key trap is inserted in the lock casing, and the keeper of the valve or other appliance is thrown so as to enter the recess of the key trap.

The use and operation is as follows: Assuming that the conditions are in their normal status when the building is locked up and that the valve is properly closed and locked by the key trap in a manner which has already been described, the anitor or other agent in authority enters the building at opening time, and thereupon having the building key available, inserts it in the recess 30 of the key trap, which, as has been stated, is accessible, to receive the key when the key trap is in its locked relation on the valve. The key is now turned to withdraw the bolt of the key trap and release the valve keeper. The bolt is no sooner withdrawn so as to release the keeper than the various pins 17 come into alinement with their various receiving holes in the cylindrical body of the key trap and spring into the same, so that the core of the key trap cannot turn any further in either direction. The key having turned with the core to a position where it is not withdraw able through its entering recess, remains I trapped, and it is not possible to again obtain the key to lock up the building until the key trap is again inserted in the lock casing 2 and the valve or the lock moved so that its building.

I I have referred to the fact that a plurality of pins17 are provided to increase the diiiiculty of evasively extracting the key from the key trap, it being evident that while a single "pin can be depressed by almost any instrument, that a plurality of pins at diiierent spaced apart points cannot be simulta neously depressed by any one person without I p the exercise of a special tool or considerable trouble. I The manipulation becomes substantially prohibitive when to the plurality of pins in the bottom of the key trap there is added the characteristic of the pins on the side by which they can only be depressed by g a keeper or-body having a predetermined outline on its bottom face. plurality of pins with their holes on the bot- However, the

tom face oi the key trap has another function, as follows: In a large building many locksand many key traps are sometimes used,

' and the janitor, or perhaps an agent unfarniliar with the practice, gets the key traps of different valve locks confused. It is evident that if only a single pin with its hole to receive a fixed stud of the lock casing is provided, that diiierent key traps are likely to register with the samelock casing. But by having a plurality of holes, an infinite number of different combinations may be made and the. likelihood oi a key trap being wrongly used with any valve is proportionately diminished.

, What I claim is:

1. In a device of the class described, a valve, a lock casing, a key trap fitting therein adapted to trap a key, a keeper on the valve adapted to enter said key trap and having wards of predetermined form, said key trap being adapted to release said key only when inserted in said casing and when said keeper of predetermined form is received therein.

2. In a device of the class described, a valve, a lock casing, a key trap adapted to be received therein, a keeper for said valve, the bottom edge of said keeper being formed with a plurality of wards analogous to a key, a movable part within said trap adapted to be rotated by a key inserted in the key trap, said movable part having a bolt cooperating with said keeper, springs in said movable part, pins impelled outward thereby into the body of said key trap, said pins having parts at difi erent elevations corresponding to the wards of said keeper, whereby the pins are depressed to the same distance by the engagement of the keeper, and a plurality of means irregularly distributed on the bottom face of said key trap for locking said movable part against rotation within the key trap until said key trap is inserted in said lock casing.

In witness whereof, I subscribe my signa ture, in the presence of two witnesses.

LEOPOLD TOBAOK.

Witnesses:

WALno M. CHAPIN, JAMES DANToNro. 

